Hard read.

Thanks to Haifa reviewer, I will persist since I share the same view with the the author. Opera can be deadly boring without the hope and fear of 'will he win?' 'will he fail?' of drama. Deadly.

Da Ponte spent a lot of time on Cherubino popping in and out of that chair. The other guys cannot just stand around and sing about different things with him lurking back there.

Even if the roulette wheel may be fixed, it is the only wheel in town. This is all there is out there on opera as drama.

The author may often be obscure but once you penetrate the foliage, he is dramatic.

The comon view of opera is recitative=drama, arias=music, and therefore not drama. Kerman makes a different (and therefore genuine) claim. he says that in opera the music IS the drama. To illustrate this, he enters a thorough venture in the world of opera, from the first masterpiece - Monteverdi's "orfeo" to wagner and modern operas. The work includes a discussion of the works of such giants as verdi and mozart, and also a critical look at the Leitmotive technics. Kerman is imaginative, provocative, write in a clear language. altough the book demands a background in opera appreciation. It does not demands a musical background. To some it is almost "the bible" of opera understanding. A master achievement.

An Excellent Book For All The Managers In Every Organization....... A Must Read

Luis Cantu

I read this book and everybody (high school or Master level) can read. Is not a heavy book. I recommended for all pourposes.

Luis C.

Far too many authors of the English literature on Taiwan focus on the island through the narrow, arguably distorting, lens of the Cold War. Rubinstein is one of the few authors who have made an effort to address this vacuum by presenting an anthology of Taiwan from multiple angles, covering such issue as religion, the environmental movement, and the democratic struggle; as such I highly recommend this readable book as an introduction to Taiwan.

This is one of the very rare systematic reviews on Taiwan's development in all aspects. It covers major issues in that island, including identities, social movements, civil society, political economy, gender, religion, and environmental protection. Not only those who are not familiar with Taiwan before can get very good overall introduction, those trying to do further research on Taiwan can also get much insigtful references.

Inside the book jacket of this book it's stated that "Girzone revives the timeless messages behind the original parables by 'dressing them in modern clothes,' presenting them through Joshua in a conversational style that will resonate with a modern audience." However these parables are not timeless. I expected parables that had the same messages as those in the Bible but with contemporary situations. Mr. Girzone goes beyond that to parables about such contemporary issues as gay marriage, the exploitation of the environment, evolution, violence in the media, and the admission of female and married priests to the Catholic church.

These parables do not seem as faithful to the Bible nor as universal as the stories he has previously written about Joshua. The parables more clearly reflect Mr. Girzone's distinct political and religious views. While I agree with some of these opinions and disagree with others, I really am uncomfortable reading these as the teachings of Joshua who is supposed to be a modern reflection of Jesus.

I am most disturbed by the characterization of the people who will be admitted into heaven. In "The Parable of the Faithful Nonbeliever," a person who has had a good life, but did not have faith in God will, nevertheless, receive a heavenly reward. In "The Parable of the Two Brothers," a man who lived a selfish life that was of little value to God goes to heaven because of his brother's earnest prayers. This theology of going to heaven without faith is not Biblical, contrary to what Jesus taught, and dangerously wrong. We do not go to heaven by our good works or by others' prayers. According to the Bible, Christ died for our sins on the cross. As he rose from the dead to have eternal life, so will those who repent of their sins, accept God's forgiveness, and live faithfully in Christ.

Not all of these parables are so erroneous and controversial. Some are true to the teachings of Jesus. For example, "The Parable of the Coal and the Diamond" illustrates how God can transform suffering. In several parables, people who seem unworthy are valued highly by God.

It is very unfortunate that all the parables in this book were not written in the spirit of Christ.

Great and I really loved, "Joshua and the Parable." It's a great book well worth reading for all ages. It deserves many many stars.

As the author explains in the first section of this book, it is based on a course that he taught at the Army War College about command relationships in the Civil War. Overall, it is an interesting view into the lives, relationships, and correspondance between certain key leaders of the Civil War (Lee and Jackson, Lincoln and McClellan, Grant and Sherman to name a few). Mr. Glatthaar's research and analysis of these relationships is excellent and detailed. For instance, he explains why the relationship between Lincoln and McClellan was so strained (to include an appendix looking at McClellan's personality quirks in modern terms). Or why Jackson and Lee worked so well together, despite a very limited personal friendship.

Simply put, I learned things from this book that I have not found in other places. One warning: I agree with another reviewer that this book is not for people who are not very familiar with the Civil War. The original course was taught to Senior Army leaders (Colonels) and civilians, so it was geared towards students who understand strategy and tactics. Having said that, I highly recommend this book to any Civil War student, of "Buff" who is interested in learning more about the key leaders who shaped the events of the war, and helped determine its outcome. If you do read it, take a look at the notes and bibliography section. In it, the author gives his recommendations for other books to use for additional info.

This book is very good, but probably not a good read if you are a novice reader about the Civil War. You have to have knowledge of the war and know the background of these generals in order to enjoy this book. If you do....it is very good and interesting.

I found myself becoming nostalgic looking through the pages of this book. Having grown up in Florida, I was stunned to see that the house I lived in had been a knock-off of one of Rudolph's houses. His early Florida houses were widely emulated for their clean lines and passive solar designs. It is an impressive collection, and illustrates the lighter side of Rudolph before he became caught up in the monumental forms that dominated the latter part of his career.

You might call him the John Lautner of Florida, creating a lifestyle as much as an architecture. You could see Travis McGee laying back in one of these houses, drinking a beer as he waits for the elusive flash of green. Rudolph really captured the spirit of Florida in the 40's and 50's. Simple, well-thought out designs that are as relavent today as they were then.

As the Case Study program got under way in southern California, Rudolph launched his own from his office in Sarasota on FloridaÕs Gulf coast. For two decades (with time off for U.S. Navy service) he created (first with Ralph Twitchell and then independently) a succession of airy pavilions that mitigated the steamy heat and filtered the brilliant light. In Ezra StollerÕs crisp period photographs these houses seem almost dreamlikeÑtoo graceful and pure to endure storms and the crass consumerism of waterfront development. And yet, despite the pressure of escalating land prices and the cult of gigantism, most of these houses have survived in their original form, and several have been lovingly restored. Every aficionado of mid-century modern should buy this elegant volume. (Michael Webb is the book reviewer for LA Architect magazine.)

The best thing about this book is that technqiues are shown with some really good quality examples (some are award winning photos) in a more contemporary style and details like apperture, speed, lens, camera and film used, along with lighting and interaction with the subjects, are mentioned clearly.

I agree with the other review that the part on Hong Kong is truely out of date, and really, since the topic of the chapter is on weddings of different cultures, it is plain funny the chapter features no pictures about the Chinese Wedding Banquet: essentially one of the most important event in weddings here in Hong Kong. The shots taken at Repulse Bay Hong Kong is probably really older than 15years...seriously.

I can hardly agree with one of the writers about the benefits of using a 28mm-200mm zoom at weddings, or really, any time at all. But that's just a matter of taste: personally on my 35mm system I use prime lenses exclusively.

The other miss is the lack of mention of filters used. Some shots are clearly taken with say, a softar, but no detail is given. But in general the details sections I believe are good and helpful.

I quite like the way the book is structured: you learn from the pros on some of the very best examples. And seeing the way pros do, like using delta 3200, spicing up otherwise tame shots with photoshop, or using daylight film inside a church hand held with apperture fully open and no flash, encourages me to explore and experiment on my own.

This is definely the best wedding photo book I have read...

It has lots of excellent, modern, and inspiring photos with short description of techniques and equipments used for each photo.

I rated this book only 4 stars because it still has rooms for improvment:

1, A small section on general techniques/equipments would be helpful for begineers and semi-pros

2, The style in a few photos in the cultural section (Hong Kong) are quite out-dated (I would believe if they were taken 15 years ago) and should be taken out. My experience (from looking at friends' wedding photos) is that the Taiwanese wedding photographers have mastered the business of wedding photography and their style and techniques may have surpassed those of North American and European wedding photographers... (As an example, they very often include an excellent cross-processed photo of the couple) I would love to know their technique... (Cathy, go to Taiwan, HongKong, or even Toronto/LA to check out the wedding businesses operated by Chinese/Taiwanese, I am sure you will be surprised).

This book provides excellent outline, but lacks practice questions. The book only have limited questions at the end of the Unit, and even then, the questions are sparce (~35 per unit of 5 or 6 chapters), instead of questions PER chapter.

This book has just the right amount of detail for course review, and it has a good, logically arranged layout. It's like an ideal set of class notes.

Written out of a desire to explain what realists such as Morgenthau and Waltz can't explain, longtime collaborators Keohane and Nye produce an interesting theory of how international relations is developing: Towards a system where the primacy of the nation-state is not as secure, the role of international regimes is greater, and force is not as effective a means of resolving conflict. While I found their theories sound and the examples of the international monetary system and the oceans regime to be supportive, their comparisons of the interdependent bilateral relationships between the US and Canada and the US and Australia to be less convincing.

Interdependence does indeed fill in gaps in the realist/neo-realist theory. I believe the best way to use this book is as a tool to analyze events that don't fit neatly into the realist model. After all, you can't use genetics to explain why s=v0t + (1/2) at (squared), right?

In recent years the effects of the "internet age" to foster "globalism" has been described by Thomas Friedman of the New York Times, among others. In the current circumstances, it seems as if old notions of power politics by nation-states is just an inaccurate way of looking at international relations. What other ways are there? Keohane and Nye, writing originally in the mid-1980s, describe a "theoretical" framework for what they refer to "interdependence." They illustrate their theory with examples of international monetary negotiations relating to the IMF, in negotiations relating to the Law of the Sea, and US-Canada relations. They state that increasingly major corporations or working government bureaucracies, working apart from the institions of the State Department in the US (for example), reach out to their counterparts across national boundaries. Speaking as someone who has had mid-level military assignments in other nations, it seems to me gratifying that these kinds of situations are presented and discussed. However, I agree with the Afterword in the 1989 edition of the book written by the authors themselves, that states that their treatment in this book is focused on areas where realism was not intended to apply in the first place. Also, they acknowledge (on page 159) that in the kinds of circumstances that "interdependence" applies, domestic politics makes foreign policy decisions subordinate to private interests. I think Hans Morgenthau would say that the role of those making decisions for nations in national security areas need to be leaders in determining national interests and applying policy based on (realist) analysis, and not followers on domestic politics. From my own point of view, lack of focus on "national interests" has caused US foreign policy to be disjointed and opportunistic in recent years.

The distinguished cardinal certainly puts forth in this tome an exhibit of his broad search of theology and his immersion in the academia of his faith at the highest levels.

What struck me significantly in the read was the obvious priority given to philosophical analysis. Ratzinger even acknowledges this in the included address given in honor of Cardinal Volk: "If theology has to do primarily with God, if its ultimate and proper theme is not salvation history or Church or community but simply God,then it must think in philosophical terms."

Although philosophy to be sure has its place in the world of theology (apologetics and evangelism) it certainly is not to be central to theological formulation. Church history is replete with the trainwrecks of faith that have flowed out of theologians majoring in philosophy.

The section where he debates the apolostolic church was one in this work which was rare in that it focused primarily on Scripture arguments rather than philosophical spins.

He certainly demonstrates an active and precise mind and writing style. At times it is difficult to follow, given our differences in theological circles. However, it must be said that his critiques of Luther are partial illumination of what the Reformer said, e.g. on church and where it could be found. He does not clearly state Luther's central tenet that church is where the pure gospel is preached and the Sacraments administered according to the gospel.

His constant insistence upon tradition and succession becomes mute when only the persistent philosophical bents are offered as primary assurance.

A fine piece of work describing the Church's efforts to create a clear line of truth between the extremes of traditionalists and reformers. There is something here to irritate any school; Ratzinger is not the firm one-sided hand he has been portrayed as in the popular press. Read it and elevate your learning and faith.